How to Make and Play a Paper Computer Game
Paper Computer Games, long known as that series of simple homemade adventure games, has long been mistakenly believed to be as simple to make as they are to play. It's not an unreasonable assumption; from the player's point of view, the game is simply a series of illustrations, which the maker of the game narrates; you'd assume all you have to do to make one is illustrate a series of pages yourself and then narrate them. How wrong you'd be! Although that is the basic premise, there's much more to it than that. You, the aspiring PCG-maker, are on on your way to becoming an expert PCG-er, simply by reading this paper. You will learn in detail how to not only produce, but also narrate for your players your very own homemade PCG adventure! Creating your World The first step to creating an in-depth world for your players to adventure in is to think up some ideas. Needless to say, it can be anything. Like any type of story, you'll need a protagonist; you'll need a storyline for your character to follow. You'll need interesting characters for your hero to meet, and you'll need action, puzzles, and fun. You can draw your inspiration from anywhere, be it your personal childhood experience or a movie you just saw. But, the best rescource for this would be the website pcg.wikia.com. There, you can look at the history of Paper Computer Games others have made, and at their characters. You can even insert them here and there as cameos or as supporting cast. Structuring your Game Once you've got your ideas, and they're rattling around in your head to your satisfaction, the next step is to write yourself a brief outline. Before you move on to this step, make sure that the ideas in your head have become so engrossing and interesting that you feel your head will burst if you don't make them into a game somehow. If you feel this is the case, you may safely begin writing your outline. Your outline can be simple and hand-written or professional and typed, it doesn't matter. It's a personal reference for you, and it is always subject to change. Make sure to include all of your ideas. Make sure you write everything down-- don't count on memory. You're liable to forget a lot between the time you write your outline and the time you begin work on the game. Your outline should more or less detail the progression of the game chronologically, assuming that the game itself is intended to unfold chronologically. If not, feel free to make whatever adjustments you deem necessary. Now, look at your outline. Based on the scope of the adventure you're creating, how long do you think it should be? This is an important step, because many PCG-ers have gone wrong in the past, and made a game too long or too short. If, for example, you give your adventure a hugely epic storyline, with high stakes for the entire world or enormous battles of multiple armies, for example, you should allow a large game size- That is, a lot of 'screens', or pages. If you make such a game too small, it won't give the sense of satisfaction that such an epic story deserves. For games like this, try 50 screens and above. Likewise, if your story is more down-to-Earth and simple, then the game should be of average PCG length, which is more or less 20 screens. Once you've figured out the overall length of your PCG, you'll need to break down the action into the number of screens you have. Get a rough idea of how many screens it's going to take to finish with one particular trial of the hero, for example. If your game feels too stretched out, it will feel boring to the players. If you find yourself in a situation where you want to express a large area or series of puzzles but don't want to stretch yourself out too thin, consider consolidating a larger in-game area onto one page. That can actually make the area work better and be more interesting. Drawing Now, you're ready to begin drawing your adventure! First, get some paper. It can be paper of any type or quality, so long as you can draw on it. Make sure you have enough of the same type of paper. If you use different types of paper, it'll be distracting. Don't worry about the drawing aspect. If you're not used to drawing, and don't feel confident about your abilities, try and draw it anyway-- some of the best PCGs have been created by inexperienced artists. It's the ideas that matter more than the actual drawing technique. Draw your first screen. It should consume the entire page, and it should not only introduce the game but be a fun puzzle as well. You don't want to make your first puzzle too hard, otherwise the player will become discouraged too early in the game and lose interest. Establish the main character, make his unique traits plain to see on this page. This way, the player will imagine the character this way even if you draw him or her far off or without so much detail for the rest of the game. The first screen should also set up the story. From the very beginning, you want to give players a strong motivation to want to continue playing. You can accomplish this by making the player identify with the character or the situation. Now, you're going to keep drawing screens, preferably in chronological order. As you make screens, make sure you take a lot of notes. Many PCG-ers have lost track of what everything in their adventure does. As the maker of your game, you are responsible for essentially being God within your game universe. You know how everything will respond to the player's actions. If there's a swing drawn on your screen, it's essential that you remember what will happen to the player if he or she attempts to swing on it. Otherwise, you'll become confused, and the player will become frustrated. Try for variety in the types of screens you draw. For example, one screen might be a 'maze screen', a screen that depicts a top-down view of a maze riddled with puzzles, traps, and enemies. The following screen might be a 'flight screen', or an airplane fight scenario, which involves ducking into and out of clouds to avoid enemy fire. Vary the screens to keep things interesting, but tie them together with story. for more suggestions on types of screen, visit pcg.wikia.com. Try and draw a cover screen for your game, once the content is done. Try to make it as iconic a drawing as possible, with a logo or title on the screen and some characters. Also, draw an 'inventory screen'-- an empty, but decorated screen that the players will have with them throughout their adventure. This can look like anything, but it's got to have plenty of blank space on it. It'll be used to draw in any items the player picks up in his or her adventure. Review Once your game has been fully drawn, review it along with your notes. Make sure you know what everything does, and if you don't, be ready to make some things up! Playing your PCG Now, to begin playing your game. First, get a player. This could be anyone from a friend or sibling to a sentient computer. Those aren't too common these days, but if you can find one, it would make a good PCG player. Introduce the game to the player; present him/her with the cover screen, before giving him/her the first screen and the inventory screen. Explain to the player what situation his character is in, and then always ask the player, "What do you do?" The action has now been turned over to the player. He or she can try anything he or she likes, from opening the door to hitting himself over the head with a carrot. When he/she tells you his or her actions, it's your job to play as the rest of the world, and tell him how the world responds to his attempts. For example, a player might say, "I'll open that door over there." to which you might respond, "You can't. It's locked. The doorknob won't turn." The whole game will essentially be a dialogue between the player and the maker like this. Sometimes, this will lead to events that you didn't count on when you made the game. Be open to that. If unexpected events are leading the story in a direction you don't want it to go in, you may cause other things to happen that will get it back on track. Remember, you're God in your game world. Don't reveal to the player your reasoning. Just do things. You, being god, move in mysterious ways. If the player dies during the game, the commonly accepted rule is called 'Save Game'- that is, if the player says "Save Game", he/she will be restored to an earlier point in the game, before dying. This helps make the game fun and reduces frustration. Believe you me, this will NOT make the game too easy. On the contrary, many PCGs can be the most difficult, and even frightening games around. You know you're doing a good job if the player feels like being a bit cautious, or taking care of his character's well-being, even knowing that there's no way to die. That will mean he's really into the story. And with that, keep playing your game and have fun. Be true to the world you've created, and keep things internally consistant. Engage the player. See how things go. You've now seen, through and through, all the complexity of making and running a Paper Computer Game. You've learned that making such a game is a challenging, but also interesting and fun process. Hopefully, in the making of such games, you'll learn more about yourself and about your player. You'll be taking your place in the proud history of PCG-ers. And now, your final duty, after making and playing your game, is to record your adventures, so that future PCG-ers, just like you, might learn from your adventures. The wisdom you've gained here will be passed on to future generations! Go to pcg.wikia.com, and add all of your original characters and stories to the site. If you used existing characters from the site, edit the article on that character and update it to include information from their experience in your PCG adventure. That, my friend, and now fellow PCG-er, is how you make and play a Paper Computer Game. Category:PCGs